A pretty young woman appears to be comfortable enough as she sits on an unusual chair and poses for her portrait at the Manly & Son studio in Canton, Ohio. She is holding a small fan and displays a faint smile as she leans toward the camera. She is wearing a ruffled dress with a striped collar and is also wearing a pin. Note the fringed chair and also notice the floor lamp. At least it appears to be a floor lamp. Could it possibly be an odd looking table? The woman is wearing a hat, but due to her puffy curly hair, the hat appears to be floating on her head. Research provided some information concerning photographer George Watson Manly but the more interesting story concerns his wife Angeline Stewart Manly. George was born in New York in about 1824. George appears to have begun his photography career in Akron, Ohio. He started out as a dagguerreotypist beginning 1859. The 1870 US census confirms that George was working as a photographer in Akron and that he was married to Angeline who was seven years his junior. The couple had three children in the household; Sabray (age 24), William (age 18), and Clifford (age 10).The boys were presumably George and Angeline’s sons. Also in the household was a young relative of Angeline and a young Irish couple. The husband of the Irish couple was listed as a photographer and he was likely an assistant to George. One source asserts that George stayed in Akron until 1873, and during some of his time in Akron he also had a studio in Salem, Ohio. It is not clear when he moved to Canton, but he is listed in Canton business directories by at least 1881. So what is the story concerning George’s wife, Angeline? The story is that Angeline Stewart Manly was a major figure in the temperance crusade in both the city of Akron and in the state of Ohio. She served as Akron’s city representative to the first state convention. The convention organized the Women’s Temperance League of Ohio and Manly was elected President. In 1883, Manly published a novel called “Hit and Miss: A Story of Real Life”. It is not known why George and Angeline moved to Canton from Akron. George died in Canton in 1900 and Angeline died there in 1913.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 